Dueling for Love
by existence555
Summary: To get Scorpius through his Auror training, Rose and Scorpius constantly try to one-up each other in mini battles around the house. But is this the only kind of engagement the young couple will ever enter into? Rose/Scorpius oneshot!


**A/N: I wrote this for the Unusual Engagement Competition over HPFC. The scenario I was given was a proposal after a snake bite. It was a ton of fun to write, and I hope you enjoy it! Leave me a review letting me know what you think :) **

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Scorpius shouted, pointing his wand directly at the figure under the sheets.

When he heard nothing, he edged closer to the bed, wand at the ready. He threw the sheets aside, but only found a Quaffle and four pillows.

"Shit," he muttered. "Where did she go?"

Scorpius didn't have time to figure out where his would-be victim had gone, as she soon burst out of the closet.

"Petrificus totalus!" Rose exclaimed, and Scorpius fell to the floor.

She hummed as she walked over to the paralyzed young man.

"You'll have to be better than that, my dear," Rose told him before performing the counter-curse.

Scorpius used his newly regained control of his body to roll his eyes.

"You don't have to be so smug about it," he grumbled.

"And you don't _have_ to be an Auror," Rose retorted. "And you certainly won't be with an attitude like that."

"You're my girlfriend," Scorpius sighed. "Can't you be supportive?"

"I'm your coach more than your girlfriend right now," Rose pointed out. "You need to get through your training, and I'm the best you've got. After all—"

"Yeah, yeah," Scorpius replied, waving her explanations away. "Your mom and dad trained you themselves. It's a real waste that you don't want to be an Auror too, you know?"

Rose laughed and pinched his cheek.

"You're too sweet," she smiled. "It's not a waste, stupid. I'm much happier playing Quidditch. Besides, I can help you, and you'll be a better Auror than I ever could be."

Scorpius rolled his eyes again and pulled Rose into a long kiss.

"Why do you always underestimate yourself?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

"Aren't you doing the same by asking me that question?" Rose shot back.

Scorpius chuckled and shook his head.

"I love you," he said.

"You certainly should," Rose grinned, settling into his lap and kissing him again.

:::

"Stupefy," Scorpius whispered, aiming at the woman in the kitchen.

"Protego!" Rose said loudly. "The floor creaks, Scorpius. How many spells could you have performed to prevent that? And when are you going to get over this ridiculous idea that you are capable of sneaking up on me?"

"Your arrogance will be your undoing," Scorpius warned.

He began to slip away, hoping to resume his assault from another angle.

"I think one attempt per day is plenty," Rose called back to him. "Can we just eat now?"

Scorpius stopped in his tracks, considering the offer.

"Did you cook?" he asked.

"Yes, indeed," Rose replied.

"That's reason enough to attack again," Scorpius muttered.

Rose put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"It's got to be good!" she insisted. "It's my grandmother's recipe."

"Prove it," Scorpius challenged her.

Rose grabbed a spoonful of stew, marched over to Scorpius, and offered it to him.

"Is that really how it is?" he asked, pouting.

Rose softened quickly and held the spoon up to her boyfriend's lips. Scorpius sniffed the stew suspiciously before opening his mouth.

"So?" Rose said expectantly. "How is it?"

Scorpius swallowed and looked at her in playful awe.

"Amazing," he told her.

Rose took the spoon back and polished off what little stew Scorpius had left on the spoon.

"Agreed," she smiled. "So, are you ready to eat?"

Scorpius took one look at her enticing lips and shook his head.

"I always preferred having dessert first," he grinned.

Before Rose had the chance to react, Scorpius had swept her into his arms and was already making his way to their bedroom.

"I love you," Rose giggled.

"I loved the stew," Scorpius told her.

He seemed to be in the process of making another smart remark, but Rose quickly silenced him with a kiss.

:::

When Rose barely dodged a green beam of light, she shrieked.

"SCORPIUS MALFOY!" she yelled. "YOU HAD BETTER NOT BE THROWING UNFORGIVABLE CURSES AT ME IN THE HOUSE THAT WE SHARE!"

The blonde man hesitantly poked his head into the room.

"Wand up!" Rose commanded, pointing her own wand at him.

Scorpius reluctantly raised his arms into the air and walked forward.

"You caught me," he admitted.

Rose narrowed her eyes at him as she confiscated his wand.

"You had better explain yourself, Mr. Malfoy," she told him, putting her best serious face on.

"Rose, I was just practicing," Scorpius replied. "Calm down. There are spells to create green beams of light, you know?"

"But was your last spell simply one of those?" Rose asked. "Or was it meant to kill?"

She poked him with the tip of his own wand, and suddenly Scorpius was aware of how flushed her cheeks were. Suppressing a grin, he too put his best serious face on.

"I'll never answer your questions!" he said suddenly. "Try anything you want."

"Are you telling me you can't be persuaded?" Rose inquired. "That is a dangerous claim to make, Mr. Malfoy."

"I'm saying you can try," he smirked.

"As I recall, you said I could try _anything_," Rose pointed out.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Scorpius asked.

The answer was clearly nothing. It took less than a second for Rose to tackle him to the floor and press her lips to his.

"You know there's a bed right over there, right?" Scorpius informed her.

"I'm quite aware," Rose said nonchalantly.

"Rose Weasley, I love you," Scorpius grinned.

"And you're about to love me more than ever before," she grinned back.

A half hour later, Scorpius admitted that she had delivered.

:::

Scorpius looked so tired when he came through the front door that Rose almost felt bad for what she was planning.

"Hi sweetheart," he said. "It's been the longest day."

"Welcome home," she smiled, pointing her wand at him. "Locomotor wibbly!"

Scorpius put up a quick Shield Charm and took cover behind a sofa.

"I wasn't really planning on this, you know?!" he shouted.

"Always prepare for the unexpected!" Rose shouted back.

"I don't know that a Weasley attacking a Malfoy could really be considered unexpected!" Scorpius pointed out angrily, sending a shower of sparks in Rose's direction.

Rose laughed, shaking her head in disappointment.

"I moved more than thirty seconds ago, my darling," she told him. "You're better than that."

Scorpius took a deep breath, focused on the sound of her voice, and Apparated. In the blink of an eye, he was behind Rose, and his wand was pressed up against her throat, his other hand to her back.

"Ooh, that was exciting," Rose said, trying to buy time to think.

Scorpius noted that her voice was shaking with a smirk.

"Surrender," he demanded.

"I suppose I'll have to," Rose sighed.

Scorpius was too busy reveling in his victory to anticipate what Rose would do next. She stomped on his foot hard, momentarily confusing him so that she could escape.

"Have you even gone through physical training yet?" she taunted him.

It was Rose's turn to be confused when Scorpius simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you not seen your uncle's latest invention?" he retorted.

Rose looked around, confused, and at last she found a strong, thin string attached to her back by means of a sticky black patch.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Criminalis returnis," Scorpius replied, and Rose suddenly felt the string tugging her back to where Scorpius was standing.

"Well, I suppose I'm fine with anything that brings me back to you," Rose grumbled good-naturedly.

"I got you," Scorpius laughed, removing the patch from her body. "Admit it."

"You know that's the whole point of me coaching you," Rose grinned. "So that you can be better than me."

"How very kind of you," Scorpius remarked, leaning down to kiss her.

In response, Rose wrapped her arms around him and settled against his chest.

"Oh, stop it," she giggled. "You know I love you."

"Oh, I know," Scorpius said dryly. "You're that special kind of loving girlfriend that attacks her boyfriend when he comes home from a long day of Auror training."

Despite years of dating Scorpius, Rose still had a tendency to misinterpret sarcasm.

"Glad you appreciate me!" she exclaimed, in genuine happiness.

Despite years of dating Rose, Scorpius still found her misinterpretations adorable and couldn't help but kiss her every time.

:::

Though it was the middle of the day, an excited Scorpius rushed home to tell Rose his big news. His training was over; he had finally done it!

Happier than ever that Tuesday was Rose's day off from practice, the newly initiated Auror burst through the front door.

His surprised girlfriend rushed down the stairs, wand first, failing to realize that it was just Scorpius back from work early.

"Stupefy!" she exclaimed.

"Protego!" Scorpius said, his instincts kicking in instantly. "Serpensortia!"

Rose, who had finally realized that the unexpected visitor was Scorpius, simply stood with her mouth hanging open as the newly conjured snake came straight at her.

"Vipera evanesca!" Scorpius shouted, but he was not fast enough.

The snake disappeared, but it had already bitten Rose in the leg. Scorpius rushed over and carried her into the kitchen immediately, setting her down on one of the chairs.

"I don't know what happened," he told her frantically. "I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry!"

"It's barely poisonous!" Rose reassured him. "Calm down. You didn't need to be all heroic and carry me into the kitchen. Just get some salve and a small bandage. And then tell me what you're doing home so early. Have they already tired of you at the Ministry?"

Scorpius took a moment to close his eyes and calm down before retrieving a healing salve and soft white bandage cloth from one of the cabinets. He returned to Rose and knelt down in front of her to start fixing up the wound.

"This is good practice," Scorpius noted, beginning to gently apply the balm.

Rose smiled down at him, but he didn't realize as he was so engrossed in taking care of her.

"Practice for what?" she inquired.

"Field injuries," Scorpius replied casually, looking down to hide his grin.

"Field injuries?" Rose repeated, confused. "Field injuries! But that—that means you—"

Scorpius was done putting her bandage on, and he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I passed!" he interrupted. "I'm a full-fledged Auror now."

"Scorpius!" Rose exclaimed. "Scorpius, that's incredible! Congratulations!"

He got up to wrap her in a tight embrace, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm so proud of you," Rose whispered. "I told you that you'd be amazing."

"It was all thanks to you," Scorpius said sheepishly. "You got me through it more than anybody or anything."

"Oh, don't say that," Rose giggled, blushing. "You did it by yourself."

Scorpius frowned and then pulled back from the embrace so that he could look into her eyes.

"No, Rose," he told her slowly. "You were there for me, just like you always are…"

He trailed off, and Rose blinked. She was about to laugh it off, but Scorpius somehow found the courage to keep going.

"Just like I hope you always will be," he continued bravely. "And now, today, everything just feels right. I've been trying to figure out how to say this for a long time, and I confess I still don't have it worked out. I know that I hurt you just now, but—"

"With a garden snake?" Rose interjected.

"I know that I hurt you," Scorpius repeated, taking her hands in his own. "But don't you see? I wouldn't have been able to develop that kind of skill without you. You helped me through everything, and now I've finally achieved a lifelong dream. And I know it's not fair to ask more of you, but I have another dream. I'm supposed to say so much more, but I'm just going to get to it, because you must know how I feel. I want to be there for you and support you and laugh with you. I love you, Rose, and my dream is to spend the rest of my life with you."

He noticed that Rose's lips were shaking, so he gently squeezed her hands.

"Was this all too sudden?" Scorpius asked. "Is it not what you want? If you're not ready—if you're never ready, it doesn't matter. I'll be here."

Rose bit her lip, but a tear rolled down her cheek anyway.

"I love you too," she said, her voice cracking. "I've been ready for longer than you know."

Scorpius grinned and sank to the ground on one knee.

"Rose Weasley," he said softly. "Will you marry me?"

Rose opened her mouth but found that she couldn't speak. Instead, she knelt down, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him. And Scorpius, who had known and loved her for so long, felt the answer in her soft lips, her tender hands, and her honest gaze.

_Yes._


End file.
